1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to seats for motor vehicles and, more specifically, to a linear seat recliner having a recliner rod assembly equipped with a ball joint for connection to the seat frame.
2. Description of Background Art
Virtually all motor vehicles are now equipped with seats having a seat bottom, a seatback pivotally secured to the seat bottom, and a recliner mechanism for latching the seatback in a desired use position relative to the seat bottom. The recliner mechanism can be selectively actuated for adjusting the angularity of the seatback relative to the seat bottom through a range of use positions defined between an upright position and a fully-reclined position. One such type of recliner mechanism, referred to as a linear seat recliner, typically includes a housing and an elongated recliner rod having a first end supported from the housing. The housing is adapted to be mounted to the seat bottom frame and the second end of the recliner rod is pivotally secured to a lever arm extension of the seatback frame. A latch assembly normally functions to latch the first end of the recliner rod to the housing. However, upon release of the latch assembly, linear movement of the recliner rod relative to the housing results in angular movement of the seatback relative to the seat bottom.
Conventionally, a hinge pin is mounted in a pair of alignable apertures formed in the second end of the recliner rod and the lever arm extension of the seatback frame so as to permit pivotal movement therebetween. Standard assembly techniques require the outer diameter of the hinge pin to be smaller than the inner diameter of the apertures to accommodate anticipated manufacturing variances and assembly stack-ups. Unfortunately, this can result in a noticeable amount of angular play (i.e., chucking) of the seatback relative to the seat bottom even though the linear seat recliner is latched. It would therefore be desirable to design a linear seat recliner that is capable of providing a closely toleranced connection between the recliner rod and the hinge pin for accommodating typical dimensional variations to eliminate chucking, while at the same time maintaining rotational freedom so as to permit smooth reclining motion of the seatback.